Sheet registering mechanism



Feb. 26, 1946.

F. R. BELLUCHE I 2,395,445

SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Original Filed May 51, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1;

Feb. 26, 1946. F. R. BELLUCHE SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Original Filed May 31, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 kl rmtm KG MANN REQQK INTEPVAL DUE/N6 WHICH bHEET l5 PEPE Gl-STE P! D m W PM Patented Feb. 26, 1946 SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Frank R. Belluche, meme, Wis, assignor to The Christensen Machine Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin origlnal application May 31, 1943, Serial No.

489,176. Divided and this application February 5. 1945, Serial No. 576,280

8 Claims.

This invention is a division of the subject matter covered in the copending application, Serial No. 489,176, filed May 31, 1943. It relates to improvements in sheet registering mechanism for printing presses and the like and has particular reference to means for re-registering sheets after they have been picked up by the receiving cylinder of the press which may be a transfer cylinder or an impression cylinder as in a flat bed press.

Sheets fed to a printing press or other like machine are generally front registered by the feeder advancing them to the usual front guide; Thus, at the instant the sheets are presented to the cylinder they are in proper front registry.

At that instant, however, the sheets are at rest while the cylinder i rotating, often at a high speed. Hence, when the grippers on the cylinder take hold of the sheet, slippage is inevitable due to the necessity of bringing the stationary sheet up to. the cylinder speed.

The amount of this slippage is dependent upon th speed of the cylinder. If the cylinder speed is constant the extent of the slippage is uniform and thus its presence is not too serious. A uniform slippage can'be compensated for, but any change in the cylinder speed alters the degree of slippage and. results in faulty registry of the sheet.

This invention, therefore, has as its principal object the provision of means for effecting a reregistration of the sheet after it has been picked up by the transfer or receiving cylinder and while it is moving with the cylinder so that regardless of the extent or variation of the slippage, the sheet always occupies a predetermined position on the cylinder.

Inasmuch as the correction of the position of a sheet on th cylinder entails releasing it from the grippers, it is another object of this invention to provide means for momentarily reopening the grippers in time for the reregistering means to function, and also' to provide other means for holding the sheet on the cylinder during this interval.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one comthe invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in, which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a mechanism embodying this invention and illustrating the same at an instant in the cycle directly after the sheet has been released from the main grippers and taken hold of by auxiliary grippers;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but representing a slightly later instant in the cycle with the auxiliary grippers opened, the sheet registered, and the main grippers just reclosed;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure Z ShOWiIlg v the parts in the positions they assume at a slightly later instant in the cycle;

Figure 4 is a view diagrammatically illustrating the manner in'which a sheet is properly registered by the front guide at the instant the main grippersclose down on it;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 illustrating the slippage, the effect of which this invention corrects by reregistering the sheet; and

Figure 6 is a view diagrammatically illustrating the reopening of the main grippers and indicating the interval in the cycle during which the reregistration of the sheet is effected.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 4 designates the feed or transfer cylinder of a printing press or other machine intended to perform work on sheet material and which constantly revolves to cany sheets into the machine as they are presented thereto.

The sheets S may be advanced to the transfer cylinder 4 in any suitable manner. In conventional practice the sheet S are advanced by an automatic sheet conveyor until their front edges strike a front guide 5 which momentarily stops the advance of the sheets and front registers them before presenting them to the transfer cylinder.

Grippers 6 controlled by tumbler mechanism (not shown) and carried by the transfer cylinder 4 take hold of a sheet at rest at the front guide and advance it to the printing couple of the Press.

As diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 5 and as explained hereinbefore, during the operation of the conventional printing press or other similar machine the abrupt change of a sheet at rest at the front guide to a sheet moving at press speeds causes slippage of the sheet in the bite of the grippers to an extent depending upon the speed of the press. The present invention overcomes the objections to this slippage by restoring the sheets plete example of the physical embodiment of to a predetermined position on the cylinder reits front edge.

gardless of the existence or extent of this slip- In carrying the invention into practice two broad classes of apparatus may be employed. In the onecase illustrated in the aforesaid copending application the cylinder has a fixed abutment providing a front registry face with which the front edge of the sheet is engaged by the operation of the reregistering mechanism. In the other broad class of apparatus, to which this invention appertains, a cylinder carried registry face is movable with respect to the cylinder and the sheet on it, but the mechanism embodies means for positively and accurately defining a fixed position of the registry face after it has engaged the sheet to insure the sheet being in a predetermined position on the cylinder.

The registry face is the front of an abutment 1 carried by a combined auxiliary gripper and registry member 8 pivoted to the cylinder as at 9 and the proper registry position is defined by arresting forward swinging motion of this member at an accurately defined location.

At its outer end the member 8 has an auxiliary gripper comprising a lower jaw l8 and an upper jaw H hingedly connected at l2 and biased to closed position by a spring IS. The front registry face which is the front of the abutment 1 extends across the bite of these jaws to engage the front edge of the sheet during operation. The movable gripper jaw H has an actuator arm l4 connected thereto and on the end of this arm is a'cam follower l5 engageable with the cam I 8 to control opening and closing of the auxiliary gripper.

The combined auxiliary gripper and registry member-8 is swung on its pivot by an actuator l1 which is controlled by a stationary cam l8 to impositively swing the member 8 toward the front edge of ,the sheet and positively swing the member 8 in the opposite direction.

The parts are so co-related that as .the member 8 is swung toward the front edge of the sheet being held by the main grippers, the jaws l 8 and H are open to close down onto the sheet after the regi'stry face (the front of abutment 1) has engaged At this point the main grippers open. This is the position of the parts shown in .Figure 1.

During the next few degrees of cylinder travel the cam follower on the actuator l1 rides off the cam 18 (as shown in Figure 2), and the actuator impelled by its spring swings the member 8 in the direction of sheet advance pulling the sheet with it until an arm I9 on the member 8 engages on its pivot 9 (the same one about which the member 8 swings) by a spring 26. To enable the actuatorto so retract the member 8, an arm 21 projects from the actuator to engage the member 8, and to assure impositiv movement of the member 8 towards the front edge-of the sheet as the cam follower 25 rides up on the cam l8, a spring 28 is interposed between the member 8 and its actuator. As will b readily apparent the spring 28 should be light enough to preclude buckling the front edge of thesheet as the registry face is swung into engagement therewith.

It is, of course, to be understood that the reregistering mechanism described is arranged at least in duplicate with one set of such mechanism near each end of the cylinder and preferably adjustable as to its position lengthwise of the cylinder to accommodate sheets of different widths and maintain the same square on the cylinder as close and the auxiliary grippers are opened by the Y cam follower I5 riding up onto'the cam l8 as shown in Figure 2.

At this point the reregistering of the sheet has been completed and it require merely the withdrawal of the reregistering mechanism from the path of the sheet. This occurs after release of the latch '28 by a cam follower 24 on the latch riding up onto the cam l8 as shown in Figure 3. The release of the latch 28 frees the pivoted member 8 for-retraction bythe actuator I1, the cam follower 25 ofwhich has by this time ridden oil.

the cam l8 so that the actuator may be rocked they are pulled forward to effect reregistration. It is also readily apparent that independence of' movement of ,the combined auxiliary gripper and registry members 8 engaging the sheet at the opposite ends of its front edge enables the correction of any out-of-squareness of the sheet as each member 8 may be brought to its position engaging its registry face with the front edge of the sheet independently of the other, while the registry positions of the members 8 defined by the latches 20 are in line across the cylinder.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, that thi invention provides an effective and simple manner of overcoming the objections inherent in all past receiving andtransfer cylinders of printing presses resulting from the inevitable slippage of the sheet in the bite of the grippers as the sheet is picked up-and abruptly.

brought from a position of rest to the speed of the rotating cylinder.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers carried by the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto; auxiliary grippers movably mounted on the cylinder to have motion toward and from the front edge of a sheet in the bite of the main grippers; a front registry face on said auxiliary grippers engageable with the front edge of the sheet as said auxiliary grippers are moved toward the front edge of the sheet; cam controlled means for moving said auxiliary grippers and for controlling opening and closing thereof so that said auxiliary grippers are open as they move toward the front edge of the sheet and close onto the sheet after the front edge thereof has been engaged by the front registry face; spring means for advancing the auxiliary grippers in the direction of sheet advance; a releasable latch -,for

arresting the spring propelled motion of the auxiliary grippers to define the proper front regiistry position; means for reopening the main grippers in timed relation to the actuation of the auxiliary grippers so that the front edge of the sheet is free of the main grippers while in the bite of the auxiliary grippersv and whereby said main grippers reclose as the'advance of the auxiliary gripper is arrested by the releasable latch; and cam means for subsequently releasing said latch to free the auxiliary grippers for continued travel in the direction of sheet advance and out of the path of sheet travel.

2. In a sheet carrying cylinder for Drinting presses and the like: main sheet holding means I 2,395,445 Y on the cylinder for holding a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder: an abutment providing a irontregistry face; a member carrying the abutment; means movabl: mounting said memher on the cylinder in a position enabling the registry face to be moved into and out of engagement with thefront edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by said main sheet holding means while the sheet is traveling with the cylinder: means for effecting momentary release of the sheet from said main sheet holding means while ber; means forcontrolling said auxiliary sheet holding means to cause the same to grasp the sheet after said registry face has been engaged with the front edge of the sheet and while the sheet and said movable member are in predetermined relation established by the engagement of the egistry face with the front edge of the sheet; means for moving said member with respect to the cylinder and in a defined path while the auxiliary sheet holding means has hold of the sheet; and means for momentarily arresting the movement of said member in a defined position to bring the sheet to a predetermined position on the cylinder before the main sheet holding means again takes hold of the sheet.

3. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder for holding a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder; an abutment presenting a front registry face; means mounting the abutment on the cylinder for movement relative to the cylinder and between a retracted position beneath the surface of the cylinder and an exposed positionengaging the front edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by said grippers; means for moving the abutment to bring the same into engagement with the front edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by said grippers; means movable with the abutment for grasping the sheet after its front edge has been engaged by the abutment, to hold the sheet against the abutment; means for momentarily reopening the grippers to free the sheet for moving the abutment and the sheet grasping means to a predetermined position with respect to the cylinder to bring a sheet held by the sheet grasping means to a given front registered position on the cylinder in time to have the grippers reclose on the sheet while it is in said registered position, and thereafter disengaging the sheet grasping means and the abutment from the sheet and retracting them beneath the surface of the cylinder.

4. In a rotatable sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: main grippers on thecylinder for holding a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder, said grippers being operable to open and closed positions; a combined auxiliary gripper and front registry member; means movably mounting said member on the cylinder for back and forth movement relative to the cylinder,

in and oppositely to the direction of cylinder rotation; actuating means for successively moving said member, first oppositely to the direction of cylinder rotation to a position engaging and gripping the front edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by said main grippers, and then moving said member with the sheet gripped by the auxiliary gripper relatively to the cylinder in the direction of cylinder rotation; ,means for momentarily arresting the latter motion of saidmember and the sheet held thereby in a predetermined position with respect to the cylinder; and means for momentarily reopening the main grippers in such timed relation to the movements of the combined auxiliary gripper and registry member that engagement of the sheet by said member takes place while the sheet is held by the main grippers and the movement of said member and the sheet held thereby to the position in which they are momentarily arrested, occurs during the interval the main grippers are open.

5. In combination: a rotatable sheet carrying cylinder; means for holding sheets on the cylinder for part of a full turn; a combined sheet gripper andregistry member; means pivotally mounting said member on the cylinder to swing from a retracted position beneath the surface of the cylinder to a sheet gripping position exposed on the surface of the cylinder, and vice versa; cam controlled means for swinging said member back and forth between said positions during a predetermined degree of cylinder rotation; cam controlled means for effecting opening and closing for movement relative to the cylinder; and means of the gripper of said member so timed with the swinging movement of said member that the gripper is open as it approaches the sheet on the cylinder and closes on the sheet after the sheet has been engaged by the registry face of said member; means for momentarily arresting swinging movement of said member toward its retracted position, in a predetermined position with respect to the cylinder to bring a sheet held by its gripper to a registered position on the cylinder; and means for effecting momentary release of a sheet from said first mentioned sheet holding means for the interval the sheet is held by the gripper of said combined gripper and registry member and is moved thereby to its registered position.

6. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder for holding a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder; an abutment presenting a front registry face; means mounting the abutment on the cylinder for movement relative to the cylinder and between a retracted position beneath the surface of the cylinder and an exposed position engaging the front edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by said grippers; means for moving the abutment to bring the same into engagement with the front edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by said grippers; means movable with the abutment for grasping the sheet after its front edge has been engaged by the abutment, to hold the sheet against the abutment; means for momentarily reopening the grippers .to free the sheet for movement relative to the cylinder; cam controlled impositive means for moving the abutment and the sheet grasping means toward their retracted momentarily arresting said motion of the abutment and sheet grasping means in a predetermined position with respect to the cylinder to arrest a sheet held by the sheet grasping means in a given front registered position on the cylinping the sheet grasping means off the sheet held sheet presented thereto on the cylinder; an abut-' by the grippers.

7. In combination a rotatable cylinder for printing presses and the like: main grippers carried by the cylinder adapted to grip and hold a ment providing a front registry face; auxiliary grippers connected with and having fixed relation with the abutment so that the front registry face of the abutment extends across the bite of the auxiliary grippers; an arm pivoted to the cylin- 'der carrying said abutment and auxiliary grippers for swinging movement in an arc substantially intersecting the periphery of the cylinder and extending beneath the surface thereof; a pivoted actuator for said arm; means connecting said actuator and arm to provide a positive drivproduced motion of the arm strips the auxiliary gripper off the sheet.

8. Means for registering a sheet while it is moving with a rotatable cylinder, comprising: a sheet gripping and registering assembly having sheet gripping means togrip a sheet and an ing connection from the actuator to the arm in g a direction to swing the arm forwardly with relation to' cylinder rotation, and in the opposite direction to impositively transmit actuator motion to the arm rearwardly with relation to cylinder rotation; cam means for moving the actuator in the direction to swing the arm rearwardly; spring means for moving the actuator in the direction to swing the arm forwardly; cam means for controlling opening and closing of the auxiliary gripper, said two cam means being so timed relative to each other that the auxiliary-gripper is'open as the abutment is swung rearwardly toward the front edge of a sheet held on the cylinder by the main grippers and closes on the sheet after the abutment engages the front edge thereof, the impositive drive connection between the actuator and arm enabling the abutment to be brought against the front edge of the sheet regardless of its position in the bite of the main grippers; means for momentarily reopening the main grippers after the auxiliary grippers take hold of the sheet and for an interval during which the cam controlling the actuator movement frees the actuator for its spring propelled movement to swing the arm forwardly; a releasable latch engageable with an abutment on the arm for arresting forward movement of the arm in a preabutment providing a registry face; means pivotal ly mounting said assembly on the cylinder in such a position that its sheet engaging portion is movablerearwardly (in a direction opposed to the direction of cylinder rotation) toward the front edge of a sheet to be registered, and forwardly (in the direction of cylinder rotastop when its registry face comes against the front edge of the sheet regardless of variations in the location of said front edge; means for moving the actuator in the direction to swing the sheet gripping and registering assembly forwardly; and means for stopping such forward movement of the assembly at a predetermined point to thereby bring the front edge of the sheet to a definite registry position on the rotating cylinder.

FRANK R. BELLUCHE. 

